adopting chin from petsmart please help

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tina000

Active member
Joined
Jul 8, 2015
Messages
39
Location
North Carolina
Im adopting a chinchilla from Petsmart. He has been there for 8 months and recently the chin he was bonded with was adopted. The employee who I talked to said he has been depressed for the past month and it is very obvious when you see him as he has obvious signs of fur chewing. Here is my dilemma, since he is from Petsmart I have no way of knowing if he has any health problems and I want to take him to the vet for a wellness check but I am afraid after everything he has gone through to be immediately taken to the vet on top of entering into a new home might over stress him completely and cause him to stop eating or worse. So should I take him immediately or should I wait a week or so?

Also, I do have two other chins so if he does have any diseases how can I ensure they wont be spread to my other two boys?

Like obviously keep them apart entirely and don't allow them to share playtime together or anything like that but I mean like is having them in the same room dangerous and should I constantly wash my hands ect?
 
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Yep 30 day quarantine in separate room, no sharing spaces or supplies. You can probably presume your chins are healthy and feed them or pet them and then carry on to the new one But if you touch the new one first you should wash before going to the others. 30 days is enough to tell if something is seriously wrong.
When I rescued my boy he was very good for the car ride and it didn't take him too long to settle in. But I kinda feel like a trip to the vet after would have upset him more. I'd almost try to stop on the way home and then it's over with and you can start bonding. That's probably the only benefit to waiting is that he might trust you more but trust can take longer than a week or two.
 
I would not bother with a vet visit unless there is a issue, a wellness check is not needed IMO. I only recommend it if you are brand new to chinchillas and do not have a vet lined up, the wellness check allows you to interview the vet and gets you on file as a patient.
 
That is what I was worried about actually. I don't have another Ac unit to keep any other room cool in my house. If I can't have them in the same room I won't be able to bring him home. The room they are in is huge it's the bonus room in my house so it's almost as large as a large basement. What if they are on complete opposite sides of the room is that still not safe? I don't want to risk my two boys getting sick so I may have to hold out. I really wanted to help him though.
 
IMO as long as bodily fluids don't commingle they can stay in the same room, meaning farther than sneeze distance.
 
I would not bother with a vet visit unless there is a issue, a wellness check is not needed IMO. I only recommend it if you are brand new to chinchillas and do not have a vet lined up, the wellness check allows you to interview the vet and gets you on file as a patient.

This is what I did. The wellness check was nice, but my other motive for taking them was to get to know the vet and see if she is someone I can depend on/work with.
 
Also as luck would have it we are finally getting into fall temperatures. Not sure where in NC you are located, but temps here in Wingate/Monroe area have been about cool enough to turn my window ac off for the season!YAYYYYY!
 
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